Rotary engine



- (NoModeL) M J BRETHERTON 4Sheets-Sheet 1.

ROTARY ENGINE. No. 460,522. Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

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(No Model.) M. J- BRETHERTON. 4Sheets--Sheet 2 ROTARY ENGINE.

No. 460,522. Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

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4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

M. J. BRBTHERTON.

ROTARY ENGINE. No. 460,522. PatentedSept. 29, 1891.

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MONTAGUE .lAMES BRETHERTON, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,522, datedSeptember 29, 1891.

Application filed November 21 1890. Serial No. 372,137- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MONTAGUE JAMEs BRETHERTON, a resident of Fort Worth,in the county of Tarrant and State of Texas, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invention is to provide a reversible rotarysteam-engine in which friction shall be reduced to as small an extent asconsistent with suitable packing of the joints, the pressure on thepiston-wings be practically balanced, compensation made for wear, andother advantages secured; and the invention consists in the constructionhereinafter described and particularly pointed out.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of two connected cylindersfor working steam expansively. Fig. 2 is an end elevation, partly insection, of a cylinder, piston, and valve-chest, a cylinder-head beingremoved. Fig. is a section on line a roof Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aperspective of a piston-wing with a part broken out to show joint andspring. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a cylinder and valve-chest, andFigs. (5, 7, S, and 9 are views of details. Fig. is a partial section online 3 y of Fig. 2.

The numerals 1 and 1' indicate the cylinders.

2 denotes the steam-supply pipe.

3 indicates a valve-chest, and 2' the outlet for exhaust-steam.

4 denotes a valve-rod, 5 an inlet for live steam to cylinder 1, and 6 anoutlet for the exhaust. The valve-rod, which may be moved in anyconvenient manner, carries the valve 7 7 to the opposite sides of theports 5 and 6, as indicated in dotted lines, when it is desired toreverse the engine.

8 indicates a conduit for exhaust from cylinder 1 to cylinder 1, inwhich it is further expanded, one or more additional cylinders beingemployed to fully expand the steam, each cylinder having a rotarypiston-wheel and suitable adjuncts. \Vithin each cylinder, which may besupported in any suitable manner, isa piston-wheel or spider made fastto the axis, which is passed through stuffingboxes 11 in each head. Thespider is cast in one piece cored out for the piston-wing recesses andother openings, substantially as shown.

16 indicate piston-wings, and denote the bear upon the movablepacking-ring 12.

20 are studs connected to the piston-wings and extending through theslots 4 of the plates 21 at each edge of said wings and into the grooves22 in the inner surface of each cylinder-head. These grooves controlmainly the radial movements of the wings.

23 are springs extending from hub 13' into recesses in the wings to takeup the play of the studs in the grooves and move said wings out to theperiphery of the cylinder when the steam is cut off.

25 are rods screwed into suitably screwthreaded holes in the hub andarranged to guide the springs 23.

21 are covering-plates secured to the edges of the win g-piston recessesof the piston-wheel or spider 15. Two of these are omitted in Fig. 2.

27 are transverse passages in the shoulders or arms 13 of the hub forthe passage of steam to the inner end of the piston-wing from the steamspace or jacket 28, formed in the cylinder-heads. To form these theheadsare recessed and the recesses are partially covered by the annularplates 29 and packing-rings 12, which latter extends from the plates 29to the covering-plate 21, and are each located at the side of a rim 14,being pressed outwardly against the inclined face of the ring or plate29 by springs 24: in the bosses 19.

26 are thin annular steel plates secured by countersunk screws orotherwise to the plates 29, their purpose being to exclude steam in thesteam-jacket from the joints about the packing-ring 12. Annular recesses30 are formed in the inner faces of the cylinderheads to furnish spacesfor these plates.

31 are check-valves openingfrom the steamspace of the cylinder into thejackets or spaces between the plates 29 and the recessed cylinder-heads.These recesses extend around the inner-surface of each head andcommunicate freely with the passages 27, whereby live steam is admittedto the bottom of the piston-wings through the openings or holes thatreceive springs 23 and rods 25. By this means steam-pressure on thepiston-wings is balanced until the end of a wing is fairly seatedagainst the periphery by the action of the groove 22 upon the studs 20of the revolving piston-wing, whereupon the steam, acting throughopening 27, holds the wings against the periphery of the cylinder. Thesprings in the wing also act while the steam-pressure is balanced tomove them outwardly. During the above-described operation steam isexcluded from the sides or flat faces of the wings by the plates andfrom their edges by the plates 29, packing-rings 12, annularcovering-plates 26, and plates 21. It may be noted that steam isexcluded from the slots 21' in the plates 21 by the piston-wing itselfuntil it has been moved outwardly a little. It will also be seen thatsteam circulates freely about the hub 18.

32 is a cock for drawing off water from the cylinder.

33 are removable plugs in the cylinderheads placed opposite the groove22 to permit the removal of the studs when it is desired to remove thepistonwvings. The latter can be withdrawn through openings ordinarilyfilled by the removable plates 34. The abutment 35 can be withdrawnthrough openings closed by plates 36 in the cylinder-head and plate 37in the annular plate 29. This abutment is made in sections connected bytongue and groove and provided with packing-bars or plates and springs,the construction being similar to that of the piston-wings.

35' indicates a spring at the top of the abutment adapted to keep itdown upon the piston-wheel.

38 are blocks bolted to the cylinder and provided with continuations ofthe steamports of the valve-chest. They form a way for the abutment andhold it vertical against the steam-pressure, whereby the pressure on itis partially relieved.

40 are a series of steel springs having their ends resting, preferably,in recesses 41, form ed in the cylinder periphery and extending overuntil by the revolution of the piston they are brought near theabutment. Preferably there are two of these springs fastened to eachblock 38 near its outer edge and under the block to just touch thewheel.

The operation of the engine can be readily understood from theforegoing. The valves being in the situation represented in full lines,steam passes constant-1y through port 5 into the space between thecylinder and the piston, a little of it escaping through checkvalve 31to the steam-jacket, and operating as above explained. The steam actingupon the the piston and against the abutment which it has passedrevolves the piston and shaft of the engine byits expansive force. Thewing next passing under the abutmentis moved outwardly by the cam-groove22 and the springs until its edge bears on the cylinder-periphery,whereupon it receives th pressure of the steam until another wingcarried past the abutment and moved out to the'cylinder-periphery by thecam and springs. The partially-expandcd steam is discharged through port6 and utilized in another cylinder or other cylinders ofsimilancharacter. The engine can be reversed by shiftin g the valves?and 7 to the position ,indicated in dotted lines, whereupon steam willenter port 6 and escape at 5. The check-valve 31 that is adjacent to theexhaust in either case will of course be kept closed by the live steamin the space at its rear. 'lhepiston-wings are made in two parts jointedtogether by a tongue and groove, but forced outwardly by springs toprevent escape of steam between their edges and plates 29.

44: are plates placed at the end of the pisston-wings over the grooves,making a full metal bearing.

45 are steel packing strips inserted in grooves in the wings andintended to be pressed outwardly by springs. They have atongue-and-groove connection, but not in the same plane with the grooveof the wing, and prevent steam passing from the pockets to the exhaustside of the piston.

The abutment is preferably divided and the parts jointed substantiallyas the piston-win gs are. It is also provided with packing-strips ofsimilar character. Springs are admitted in the recess above the abutmentto hold it upon the piston-wheel.

Many of the above-described details can be varied by mechanical skillwithout departure from the invention, provided substantially the sameprinciples of operation and construction are employed.

In Fig. 2 is shown mechanism for counteracting the efl'ect ofcentrifugal force upon the piston-wings, whereby they are otherwisethrown or pressed against the cylinder-periphery with suiiicient forceto retard the engine. This mechanism consists of the levers 42, pivotedat 43 in the slots in the walls 15 of the piston-wing pockets. 44 areWeights made adjustable on the long arms of the levers, whereby they canbe adjusted for different speeds. 45 are set-screws, and 46 areregulable stops to limit-the throw of the weighted levers. The shortarmof each lever extends into a slot 47 in the face of the piston-wing,each slot being sufficiently long to allow the piston-wing to retirewithin its recess, or, 011

the other hand, to be moved out against the the short arm of the leversshould bear or nearly bear upon the inner end of the slot, being held inposition by springs 45, which are adapted to oppose extreme movement ofthe weighted levers in either direction. They prevent violent concussionor hammering against the wheel, and also keep the levers from flyingback too far. It will be understood that when the piston-wheel isrevolving and the piston-wi gs are thrown outward by centrifugal forceg.similar effect is produced upon the weights, whereby the long arms ofthe levers are moved outwardly and the short arms forced against thebottom of the slots in the piston-wings with the effect to counteractoutward movement thereof due to centrifugal action. They are thus keptfrom producing excessive friction upon the cylinderperiphery.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by LettersPatent, is

1. In a rotary engine, the cylinder-provided with an interiorly-groovedhead having removable plugs in the groove, and a piston-wheel providedwith wings having removable pins, said cylinder having a removable platein its peripheral surface, substantially as set forth.

2. In a rotary engine, a steammylinder having a steam-inlet and arecessed head or steam-jacket, a plate covering the recess, acheck-valve in the plate to admit steam to said recess or steam-jacket,a piston-Wheel with movable wings and pockets or ways for the samehaving steam-inlets near their inner edges, there being freecommunication between the recesses or steam-jackets in the head and saidinlet in the piston-wing pockets, whereby the wings are balanced,substantially as set forth.

3. In a rotary engine, a steam -cylinder having a steam-inlet and arecessed head or steam-jacket, a plate covering the recess, acheck-valve in the plate to admit steam to said recess or steam-jacket,a piston-wheel with movable wings and pockets or ways for the samehaving steam-inlets near their inner edges, there being freecommunication between the recesses or steam-jacket in the head and saidinlet in the piston-wing pockets, whereby the wings are balanced, andsprings tending to press the wings outwardly, substantially as setforth.

4. In a rotary engine, a piston-wing made in parts connected by a tongueand groove and provided with a spring in the central groove tending toseparate the parts and having transverse and jointed packing-stripssituated in grooves in the face of the two-part wing and having thejoints at one side of the joint between the parts of the wing to permitthe extension of said strips and to prevent steam from passing betweenthe parts, substantially as set forth.

5. In a rotary engine, an abutment made in parts connected by a tongueand a groove and provided with a spring in thecentral groove and havingtransverse and jointed packing-strips situated in grooves in the face ofthe two-part abutment and having the joints at one side of the jointbetween the parts of the abutment to permit extension of the strips andprevent escape of steam between the parts, substantially as set forth.

6. In a rotary engine, the combination of the cylinder, abutment, andpiston with the steam-chest having an inlet and outlet and having twoports communicating with the cylinder, and piston-valve adapted to admitlive steam to the cylinder through either port and exhaust through theother, and a steamjacket or recess in each cylinder-head provided with acheck-valve, whereby live steam can be admitted to one recess and behindthe piston-wings and exhausted from the other recess, both recessescommunicating with the space behind the wings, substantially as setforth.

7. In a rotary engine, the combination of the steam-jackets composed ofthe recesses in the cylinder-head covered by plates 29, the annularpacking located between the pistonwheel rim 14 and the annular plate ofthe steam-jacket, and the flat steel rings 26, attached to said annularplates 29 and extending over upon the wheelrim, substantially as setforth.

8. In a rotary engine, the combination of the annular packing-ringhaving an inclined face located between the piston-wheel rim and theannular plate of the steam-jacket, also having an inclined face, and theflat steel rings attached to said annular plates and extending over uponthe wheel-rim, and a spring to press the packing against the plate,substantially as set forth.

9. In a rotary engine, the combination of piston-wings provided withslots in their sides and levers having arms extending through the wallsof the piston-wing pockets and normally in contact with the outer end ofthe slots in the wings When the latter are in contact wit-h thecylinder, said slots being sufliciently long to permit the wings toretire Without the withdrawal therefrom of the levers and said leversbeing adapted under the influence of centrifugal action to oppose thecentrifugal" action of the wings and to be thrown out of engagementtherewith by their inward movement, and regular stops to limit the throwof the levers, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

llION-TAG'UE JAMES BRElHER'lON.

Witnesses:

IRBY DUNKLIN, 0. O. HERRON RIED.

IIO

